2
T H E TORCH OF REASON, S IL V E R T O N , O R EG O N , N O V EM B ER 29, E. M. 300 (1900.)
speed ve foods— blubber and m aca­ crimes and venalities th a t we see houses, there m ight be some sense th in k ers accounts for the large
roni, but would be m ade m iserable around us — the felonies th a t
fill in such parsim ony; but we are nig- num ber of followers the C hristians
by an interchange of t h e m — t h a t in our prisons, the trickeries of trade, garde of air, of which we have so lay claim to in the U nited States,
other cases there is still this fit-nesg the q u arrellin g of nation with na- much, and prodigals of health, of All persons who aid the church
to diet, to clim ate, and to modes of tion and of class with class, the cor- which we have so little .”
and acknowledge a belief in the
life, even the most sceptical m ust ruptness of in stitu tio n s, the jeal-
Though we have schools iu m any Bible god are counted as being on
adm it th at some law of ad ap tatio n ousies of caste and the scandal of localities bearing the nam e of the
side
of
th e churches,
is at work.
draw ing room s, have their causes H orace M ann, yet on entering you I have personally seen professed
T his universal law of physical com prehended under this general- encounter the fetid atm osphere, friends of M ental L iberty give
m odification, is the law of m ental ization.
growing worse and worse as you freely l0 the m issionary fund, buy
modification also.
The m u ltitu d ­
Concerning the present position enter the recitation rooms, where tickets for church socials and aid
inous differences of capacity and of the hum an race we m ust there- the innocents, with flushed cheeks churches in general, but would not
disposition th a t have in course o f fore say, th a t m an needed one mor- and aching heads, are puzzling support a Freethought lecture, buy
tim e grown up between the In d ian , al constitution to fit him for his their brains over im aginary prob- F ieeth o u g h t literatu re, or advocate
African, Mongolian and C aucasian original sta te ; th at he needs anoth- lems that have no application what- thf-ir liberal views by tongue or
races, and between the various sub­ er to fit him far his present state, ever to ev eryday life.
pen.
divisions of them , m ust all be as­ an<l th a t he has been, is, and will
j was once, m any years ago, in-
The C hristians are becoming so
cribed to the acquirem ent in each long continue to be, in process of vjted to listen to a lecture on ven- eager to lay claim to such vast
case of fitness for su rrounding c ir­ ad ap tatio n . By the term civiliza- tilation, in Cornell U niversity, by num bers, th a t they are now offer­
cum stances. W hy all this diverg­ tion we signify the ad ap tatio n that a distinguished Professor; the room
ing rew ards for hypocrisy, p articu ­
ence from the one common original has already taken place.
1 he Was crowded, and the atm osphere larly so in fraternal orders, such as
type? If ad aptation of c o n stitu ­ changes that c o n stitu te progress when I entered was already u n ­
the I. O .O . F., A. O. U. W., U ni­
tions is not the cause, w hat is the are the successive steps of the tr a n ­ bearable, not a door or window left
ted A rtisans, etc., and especially so
cause?
sition. And th e belief in hum an open. At the close, I was .in tro ­ in orders th a t offer life or accident
There are none, however, who perfectibility m erely am ounts to duced to the Professor; thanking insurance.
can with any th ing like consistency the belief th a t in virtue of this pro­ him for his lecture, I said, “ 1
In order to become a m em ber of
com bat this doctrine; for all use a r­ cess man will eventually become should have enjoyed it much more
gum ents th a t presuppose its tru th . com pletely suited to his mode of if there had been some open w in­ one of these orders it is required
th at the applicant affirm his belief
Keeping in mind then the two life.— [Social Statics.
dows, through which the carbonic in the Bible and its God, and I am
facts, th a t all evil results from the
acid gas, against whose evil influ­ sorry to say th a t the bribery offered
non-adaptation of of constitution to
ences you w arned us, could have in the way of insurance, etc.,is h av ­
F o r th e T orch of R eason.
conditions; and th a t where this
escaped.” I am happy to say I ing the desired effect.
If Liberals
The
Inalienable
Rights
of
School
non-adaptation exists it is c o n tin u ­
left him blushing.
would be honest and speak the dic­
Girls.
ally being dim inished by the chang­
A nother teacher, lecturing on tates of their conscience when ques­
ing of constitution to suit condi­
BY ELIZABETH CADY STANTON.
ventilation, once com plained to me tioned as to their religious convic­
tions, we shall be prepared for com ­
th a t my d au g h ter had been very tions, such orders would be forced
preh en d in g the present position of
The first necessity for the pre­
im p ertin en t to her. W ith surprise to omit the religious test in order to
the hum an raoe.
servation of good health is a con­
I asked, “ W hat did she s a y ? ” She g e t the desired num ber of mem­
By the increase of population the sta n t supply of pure air in all our
state of existence we call social has waking and sleeping hours. 2000' replied, “ Stepping on her chair, bers. This religious discrim ination
been necessitated. Men living in cubic feet each hour is necessary she pulled down the window and is one of C hristian persecution and
this state sutler under num erous for every hum an being; this is the said, pray let us have some pure should be vigorously exposed by
evils. By the hypothesis it follow’s m inim um for scientific ventilation. air; with sixteen scholars in this Secularists.
In order to become a good m em ­
th a t their characters are not com ­ W ith this necessity in m ind, see little room, we m ust have breathed
the
air
tw
enty
times
alread
y
;
isn
’t
ber of a fraternal order, is it neces­
pletely adapted to this state.
how inadequate is the supply vouch­
it
a
good
thing,
Miss
P.,
to
use
In w hat respect are they not so safed us, in our fashionable re­
sary for one to believe the story of
knowledge
as
fast
as
we
get
it?
”
ad ap ted ? w hat is the special q u a li­ ceptions and dinners, school houses
Jonah and the whale?
T h rt the
“
W
hy,”
said
I,
“
I
am
more
proud
fication which the social state re­ theatres, churches and public con­
Lord held the sun and moon in the
of
her
than
ever,
to
th
in
k
she
uses
quires?
valleys so th a t the Jew s could see
veyances. If we calculate the num ­
so
rapidly
the
knowledge
she
ac­
It requires th a t each individual ber of cubic feet in the various a p ­
to kill a few more G entiles?
A nd
quires;
your
class
is
equally
in
­
shall have such desires only as may artm ents where we spend our lives,
to have a belief like a G uiteau or a
debted
to
you
for
the
lecture,
and
D u rra n t?
be fully satisfied w ithout trenching we shall see th a t we breathe the
to
my
d
au
g
h
ter
for
its
prom
pt
ap
­
upon the ability of other in d iv id u ­ sam e air m any times in one hour.
Liberals, let us awake.
L et us
als to obtain like satisfaction. If Every exhalation of the breath is plication.”
cast old Mrs. G ru n d y aside and do
It
is
a
pity
th
a
t
in
all
our
col­
the desires of each are not th u s lim ­ laden with carbonic acid gas, and
som ething.
Rem em ber th a t the
ited, then eith er all m ust have cer­ five-eighths o f the im purities of the leges and schools there is not some price of liberty is alw ays the same
tain of their desires ungratified, or system are throw n off through the bright pupil in every class, to de- — ETERNAL VIGILANCE. Those W’ho
2000 cannot aid the spreading of the
some m ust get gratification for them skin; w hat then m ust he the at- m a " d her inalie,,!,ble "&>■'
a t the corresponding expense of Biosphere of an a p a rtm e n t where Cubl° feet of a ir ever-v h,,ur'
gospel of F reethought in a finan­
others. Both of which a ltern a tiv e s ten people, more or less, have b
e e n
-------------------
cial way can at least live up to
necessitating pain, im ply non-adap­ confined any length of tim e? Im ag ­ F o r th e Torch of R eason.
th eir honest convictions and agi­
tation.
Let Our Light Shine.
ine a schoolhouse with one h u n ­
tate our doctrines w’henever oppor­
But why is not m an adapted to dred children, in a succession of
tunities perm it.
If we d o n ’t agi­
the social state?
badly aired rooms six hours iu the
ta te our gospel, how will we let the
Sim ply because he yet p artially
retain s the characteristics
th a t
adapted him for an antecedent
state. The respects in which he is
not fitted for society are the respects
in which he is fitted for his original
predatory life.His prim itive circum ­
stances required th a t he should sac­
rifice the welfare of oth®r beings to
his own; his present circum stances
require th a t he should not do so;
and in so far as hisold a ttrib u te still
clings to him, iu so far is he unfit
for the social state. All sins of
men against each other, from the
cannibalism of the C arib to the
BY E. L. DAVIDSON.
day, and then co n trast the a ir they
get with w hat they need; this
wou.d be a more valuable sum in
arithm etic than any vet laid down
by the m athem aticians.
Horace Mann, the only m em ber
on the Board of E ducation in Mass-
achusetts in bis day, who appre-
ciated the im portance of a gener-
OU8 supply of pure air in the pub-
lie schools, well said: “ Seeing th a t
th e atm osphere is forty m iles deep
!all around the globe, it is a use-
less piece of economy to breathe it
more i „an once; if we had to trim -
die it in wheelbarrows to fill our
_______
world know we have an y ?
If all the so-called or would-be
L et us take our candle from
Liberals in the world would show under the bushel, aud let our
their colors aud stand shoulder to light shine.
shoulder with the Liberals of more
pronou need type, w hat a great blow
it would be to superstition and
Progress of Science.
m ental slavery! These would-be
Liberals support th e m ythological
Science is no longer the concern
as much if not more th an the Free- of a few men under royal p atro n ­
thought movem ent.
They believe age, but the tw’o great movements
the latter cause to be the only true of
..........
K,„.
the ..................
present ce
n tu ry — the growth
one, yet they are num bered with of Democracy and th e growth o
the form er, as the ecclesiastical S c ie n c e -h a v e united for thei
powers are only too glad to claim common good.—[P o p u lar Scieuc
I them . T his hypocrisy am ong Free- M onthly.